Cyclic operating pumping method and system

Abstract

A method of transporting a material includes at least one series of interconnected tube sections that can be opened or closed. At least one downstream tube section holds the material to be transported. A liquid jet is generated which accelerates the held material upstream out of at least the first downstream tube section into at least one opening upstream tube section which then holds a material part waiting for a next liquid jet to propagate that part to the next upstream tube section.

Claims

1. A method of transporting a material comprises: using at least one series of interconnected tube sections that can be opened or closed, the interconnected tube sections including a first downstream tube section and at least one opening upstream tube section; holding the material to be transported in the first downstream tube section; and generating a liquid jet which accelerates the held material upstream wherein at least a part of the material is forced out of at least the first downstream tube section and into the at least one opening upstream tube section which then holds the part of the material waiting for a next liquid jet to propagate at least a further part of material to a next upstream tube section in that by opening and closing the interconnected tube sections selectively, successive parts of the material confined between closed tube sections are stepwise transported through the series of interconnected tube sections.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the interconnected tube sections are mainly horizontally configured.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein generating the liquid jet directed at the material to be transported is generated through a pump driven nozzle in a tube section downstream relative to the held material.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the interconnected tube sections are vertically aligned, and wherein pumps act on a basis of a pressure difference relative to local water pressure.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the interconnected tube sections are mainly vertically configured.

6. A method of transporting a material comprises: using at least one series of interconnected tube sections that can be opened or closed, the interconnected tube sections including a first downstream tube section and at least one opening upstream tube section, wherein the interconnected tube sections have a flexible inner tube fixed therein; holding the material to be transported in the first downstream tube section; generating a liquid jet which accelerates the held material upstream wherein at least a part of the material is forced out of at least the first downstream tube section and into the at least one opening upstream tube section which then holds the part of the material waiting for a next liquid jet to propagate at least a further part of material to a next upstream tube section; and pressurising or depressurising a pressure space between the interconnected tube sections and the flexible inner tube a resulting in inward or outward flexing of the flexible inner tube that closes or opens the respective tube sections.

7. A system for transporting material comprising: at least one series of interconnected tube sections configured to be opened or closed, whereby in operation tube sections of said series hold the material to be transported, and a liquid jet generator arranged in or embodied by respective tube sections whereby a generated liquid jet accelerates material in at least a downstream tube section partly into an opening upstream tube section which then holds the material, wherein the liquid jet generator comprises a pump driven nozzle in the downstream tube section positioned under the material to be accelerated.

8. The system according to claim 7, and further comprising liquid pumps configured to operate on a group of mainly vertically aligned interconnected tube sections, wherein each liquid pump is a water pump which generates water having a pressure which is derived from a local water pressure at a depth where the group of mainly vertically aligned interconnected tube sections concerned are situated.

9. The system according to claim 7 wherein a flexible inner tube is fixed in at least one of the tube sections and which is flared radially outwardly in an upstream direction.

10. The system according to claim 7 and further comprising a programmable processor configured to communicate a data address signal at least to the liquid jet generator, wherein each tube section of the at least one series of interconnected tube sections is uniquely addressable in order to generate successive jets with matching opening and closing actions of the tube sections, and wherein the processor is programmed such that parts of the material are urged upstream.

11. The system according to claim 10 and further comprising sensors arranged to communicate with the processor for providing thereto operational quantities that include instantaneous liquid pressures and liquid velocities in each of the tube sections.

12. A computer program for use in the programmable processor according to claim 10.

13. The system of claim 7 wherein each of the downstream and upstream tube sections comprises a flexible inner tube having a pressure space that can be pressurised or, and which flexible inner tube when closing is arranged as a pump, to propel a liquid out of the flexible inner tube.

14. The system according to claim 7, and further comprising a one-way device configured to prevent solids in the material to move downstream.

15. The system according to claim 7, wherein the liquid jet generator comprises a flexible inner tube fixed in the downstream tube section whereby a pressure space between the tube section and the flexible inner tube is configured to be pressurised, resulting in an inward flexing of the flexible inner tube forcing the part of material out and into the upstream tube section.

16. A method of transporting a material comprises: using at least one series of interconnected tube sections that can be opened or closed, the interconnected tube sections including a first downstream tube section and at least one opening upstream tube section; holding the material to be transported in the first downstream tube section; and generating a liquid jet which accelerates the held material upstream wherein at least a part of the material is forced out of at least the first downstream tube section and into the at least one opening upstream tube section which then holds the part of the material waiting for a next liquid jet to propagate at least a further part of material to a next upstream tube section, wherein generating the liquid jet directed at the held material to be transported is generated by a tube section downstream relative to the held material, which tube section has an inward flexing inner tube configured to create a pressure space that is pump driven.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) At present the features according to the inventions will be elucidated further together with their additional advantages while reference is being made to the appended drawings, wherein similar components are being referred to by means of the same reference numerals. In the drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a system according to the invention having interconnected controllable tube sections here in a vertical configuration;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a detail of a possible embodiment of a tube section according to the invention for use in the system of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a top view on one-wav means in the form of pivotally brackets mounted at one end of the tube section shown in FIG. 2; and

(5) FIG. 4 shows a matrix chart of the system of FIG. 1 with interconnected tube sections depicted in a row denoted A-Z and in each column the open/closed state of the tube section in that row during the sequence of events denoted 1-14 while the material held is transported upstream.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) FIG. 1 shows a system 1 for transporting material mainly in the form of a liquid, such as water, in particular sea water wherein solids, such as nodules, in particular manganese nodules are present. The system 1 comprises a series of interconnected tube sections 2, but if required the system 1 may comprise two or more parallel operating series of such tube sections 2. Each tube section 2 can be controlled to open or close which will be described further hereinafter. If installed in vertical configuration to be applied in water e.g. deep sea all sections 2 are open and are lowered into the water on their own weight till the bottom of the sea is reached by the most downstream tube section 2 which is then closed, as seen in row 2B of the matrix chart of FIG. 4. Narrower drawn tube sections 2A, 3C, 4E et cetera may be considered as non-return valves, but they may even be embodied by such multifunctional tube sections 2. Key with respect to the transport mechanism reflected by the chart is that at least part of the material confined between outer closed sections 2, is propagated between a closing most inner downstream section 2 and an upstream simultaneously opening most inner tube section 2. This will further be elucidated later.

(7) To at least promote some extra propagation of the material, liquid jet generating means 3 in the form of a pump driven nozzle 4 are positioned under the material M to be accelerated and are arranged in the tube section 2 as shown in FIG. 2.

(8) Basic stepwise propagation in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 2 is however effected by the pressure action of the tube sections 2 which generate a liquid jet for tube section material to propagate, into so to say shift, into the simultaneously opening and material admitting/receiving upstream tube section 2. This way only the material which at its outer boundaries is confined between closed tube sections 2 is stepwise in a stop and go fashion transported from one section to the next. So limited amounts of pump energy are required for such stepwise movements wherein the solids are accelerated during each step. During a stop the water pressure inside the sections is made equal to the pressure of the water outside. This prevents water or gas escaping from the water or material to expand unwantedly. Multiple successive trains of confined material can travel through the series of tube sections 2 in a controlled way as seen in FIG. 4 or through a system 1 with several parallel connected series of tube sections.

(9) In order to effect the pressure action the tube section 2 comprises a flexible inner tube 5 fixed in the downstream tube section 2. Between the tube section inner wall and the flexible inner tube 5 there is a pressure space 6 which may be pressurised or depressurized by means of a fluid liquid pump 7. The pump 7 which may also drive the nozzle 4 and may be a water pump which outputs possibly salt water having a pressure which is derived from the local water pressure at a depth where the tube sections 2 concerned are situated. In that case a limited amount of pump power is necessary since only the confined material needs to be lifted in each step which only requires a common centrifugal pump or a gearwheel pump. A pressurising of the space 6 results in an inward flexing of the flexible inner tube 5 forcing the material including water and solids within the flexible tube 5 out to the upstream tube section 2, as the tube section 2 directly downstream of that upstream section is closed. While a depressurizing results in an outward flexing ultimately against the inner wall of the section 2 which may suck in material but more importantly makes space for said forced out material part to enter the flexible inner tube 4 of the upstream inner tube section.

(10) In order to propel and accelerate the material out of the tube section the flexible inner tube may be flared radially outwardly in upstream direction. Then pressurising the space 5 provides an extra force to drive the material into the next section.

(11) Timing of the opening and closing of the various tube sections to get to a kind of stepwise running upstream wave of the material is effected by a programmable processor . The processor is capable of generally bidirectional communicating a data address signal via a bus structure like in a computer bus, at least to the liquid jet generating means 3, 4, the controllable tube sections 2 and valves, as well as to sensors S which measure critical parameter quantities. These addresses are unique in order to allow the processor to control each and every of the controllable components of the system 1 by means of a computer program and with the help of the sensor parameters. In particular opening and closing actions required for executing the method of transporting the material are properly programmed. Possibly these actions in particular their individual durations dependent on the operating depth of or the pressure in the tube sections 2, and the kind and size of material, as well as the viscosity and/or the solid to liquid ratio of the material and/or velocities and/or degree of filing of a section 2 may be input though the bus to the software concerned.

(12) The tube section 2 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in top view comprise a one-way means 8 fixed therein for preventing solids in the material to move downstream. These means 8 are formed here as non-return brackets which in FIG. 2 pivot or possibly flex in upstream direction only. FIG. 2 shows that a mounting ring 9 is fixed to the inner wall of the tube section 2. The brackets pivot 10 is fixed to the inner wall via the ring 9 at the end of the section 2. Here the ring 9 also comprises the nozzle 4 and helps to effectively clamp an end part of the flexible inner tube 5. This eases production of the tube sections.

(13) Returning to the chart of FIG. 4 it is best seen in rows 8-14 that in the case as shown there are three material filled sections 2 which are one by one gradually stepwise shiftedin this case upstreamto the right by the controlled closing and simultaneous opening of in this case the two inner sections which adjoin the confined material. Lesser or more sections may be filled with material which requires lesser or more local pump power and will influence the friction forces exerted on in particular the repeatedly flexing inner tube 5. It is also possible to confine the material section or sections between two or more sections on each side thereof, while the most inner sections are simultaneously closed and opened.